SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Hundreds of cheering fans waving Bulgarian flags welcomed Eurovision Song Contest winner Dara upon her return home on Sunday.
Visibly tired but smiling, the 27-year-old singer arrived at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport waving the Eurovision trophy. Bulgaria's major television stations made changes to their regular programs to air live coverage from the airport.
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Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Eurovision 20026 fans welcome the winner Dara upon her in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026,. (AP Photo)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
“This award marks the beginning of my future international career,” Dara said.
The singer won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga,” giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition.
“We have done something great for Bulgarian music, and I hope this sends a message that Bulgaria’s performers and artists deserve stronger support,” Dara said.
She said that Bulgaria is “an exceptionally talented nation that will continue to receive more and more attention.”
Dara, whose real name is Darina Yotova, beat 24 other competitors during Saturday’s grand final of the European pop music competition. Her song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries in participating countries and viewers around the world, whose votes together decide the winner.
Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev was among the officials at the airport. Terziev said that the capital city is ready to host the next edition of the European song contest in 2027 when Bulgaria will mark the 20th anniversary of joining the European Union.
The Balkan country’s political leaders joined the outburst of national pride.
Parliamentary speaker Mihaela Dotsova called Dara's win an “inspiration for the nation,” while President Iliana Yotova said that it was a “triumph for Bulgaria” and Prime Minister Rumen Radev proclaimed it “a victory with global resonance.”
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Eurovision 20026 fans welcome the winner Dara upon her in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026,. (AP Photo)
Eurovision 20026 winner Dara reacts upon her return home in Sofia on Sunday, May 17, 2026, giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pleaded with unions representing workers for the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, to resume bargaining Sunday, saying a long strike hurts workers and hundreds of thousands of commuters.
“This is my official invitation. We didn’t want you to leave. You left. You’re welcome to come back. I’ll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just c’mon back,” Hochul told a news conference as the strike — the first in three decades — entered its second day.
Hochul, appearing with the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the railroad more commonly known by commuters as the “LIRR,” pleaded with the unions to try to reach a deal before Monday's morning commute.
“We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is, no one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt,” she said.
The LIRR serves hundreds of thousands of commuters who live along a 118-mile-long and up to 23-mile-wide land mass that includes Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and the Hamptons, a summertime playground for the rich and famous near its eastern tip. The railroad has long provided commuters relief from its rush-hour clogged highways.
Most of its riders live outside New York City in two counties populated by nearly three million people.
After the news conference, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transportation Communications Union said in a statement that the union workers “are not asking for special treatment — they are simply fighting to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living in the New York region after years without a raise.”
The railroad closed down and workers went on strike just after midnight Friday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.
The unions and the MTA have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers' salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
At her news conference, Hochul said workers would lose every dollar that they would gain with a new contract by remaining on strike for three days.
Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has said no new negotiations have been scheduled.
“We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”
At Hochul's news conference, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the unions' proposals would “blow up the MTA’s budget” but he joined the governor's request for the unions to resume talks.
“They elected to walk out. We’re more than willing to meet them halfway on wages,” he said.
The impact of the walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, fell on many sports fans who wanted to see the Yankees and Mets battle or the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.
Would-be commuters were greeted all weekend by train schedule departure boards that listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers” rather than upcoming trains listed by destination.
Hochul said essential workers among the roughly 250,000 weekday LIRR riders can take buses into the city from six locations on Long Island starting at 4 a.m. Monday and during an evening rush-hour commute from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform Saturday, saying he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”
“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump said.
Hochul urged companies and agencies that employ workers from Long Island to let them work from home whenever possible.
“It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home, should. Please do so,” she said.
The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would result in large fare increases and be disproportionate to what other unionized workers are paid.
The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.
Long Island Rail Road workers walk on the picket line outside of Penn Station on the first day of their strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Long Island Rail Road trains sit at the West Side Yard on the first day of a Long Island Rail Road workers' strike, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
A passenger waits by a sign board showing no Long Island Rail Road trains operating at the Moynihan Train Hall section of Penn Station on the first day of a strike on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)
Long Island Rail Road workers, including locomotive engineer Karl Bischoff, center, picket outside Penn Station on the first day of a strike in New York, on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)
A passenger looks at a closed off entrance to the Long Island Rail Road at Grand Central station, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in New York, on the first day of a strike after five unions representing about half the LIRR's workforce walked off the job. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
